Water ski tow rope guide



1961 P. K. BELTMANN ETAL 2,972,325

WATER SKI TOW ROPE GUIDE Filed July 11, 1958 FIG mam mm ER V PHlLlP K.BELTMANN- FIG. 4.

ATTORNEY WATER SKI TOW ROPE GUIDE Philip K. Beltmann, 1496 Laurel Ave.,and Edward J. Robb, 327 E. Morton St., both of St. Paul, Minn.

Filed July 11, 1958, Ser. No. 748,017

' 9 Claims. Cl. 114-235 This invention relates to an improvement in.water ski tow rope guide and deals particularly with an apparatusdesigned for attachment to the transom of a boat and which assists inpreventing the water 'ski tow rope or the like from being tangled in thepropeller of the boat.

During recent years the popularity of water skiing behind boats of onetype or another has become increasingly popular. One of the difficultieswhich is often encountered lies in the fact that the tow rope oftenbecomes entangled in the propeller of the boat motor at times when thewater skier releases his hold upon the tow rope. For example, if theskier loses his balance and falls into the water or releases his holdupon the rope to land near shore, the pull upon the tow rope is suddenlyreleased and the rope has a tendency to sink into the water. Also, aboutthis time the pilot of the boat often greatly reduces the speed of theboat so as to circle back to the skier or to return to shore. If therope sinks into-the water during this slowing operation when there is noparticular pull uponthe tow rope, the rope often becomes entangled inthe propeller, breaking or damaging therope and in some instancescausing injury to the motor. It is an object .of the presentinvention toavoid this previous difliculty.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of a guide armpivotally attached to the transom of the boat on a substantiallyvertical axis and including at its outer extremity a loop or other ropeguide through which the rope extends. The rope is attached to the boatat a point near the pivot axis of the arm and prefer- ;ably in avertical plane through the pivot ,axis and parallel to the longitudinalaxis ofthe boat. A spring is provided for normally urging this arm to aposition transversely of the boat and the spring is capable of acting onthe arm to move it into position transversely of the boat when the towrope is not under the strain of towing a water skier. As a result, assoon as the water skier releases the tow rope, the guide arm swingslaterally and acts'to guide the rope to a position on one side or theother of the rear'of the boat. As a result, in the event the rope sinksinto the water, it will be well out of the path of the propeller thuspreventing injury to -the rope and to the motor.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of aguide 'arm pivotedto. the transom of a boat and including on itsextremity a rope guide through which the rope extends. When there is nopull upon the tow rope or when the pull on the rope does not equal tatePa en 1 that exerted ,by a water skier, the arm will swing, toward isillustrated in vertical position.

a position laterally of the boat or at substantially right angles to thedirection of travel of the boat thus preventing injury to the rope. Atthe same time, when a pull is exerted upon the tow rope by a water skierduring a water skiing operation, the arm is free to pivot to a positionrearwardly of the boat or at an angle in either direction to thedirection of travel of the boat.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of adevice of the type described including a reversible spring which mayurge the arm in either direction as desired. When the spring is in oneposition, as would be the case when the mounting bracket were positionedto the right of center of the boat, the spring is capable of urging thearm to the right and away from the propeller which is normally at thecenter of the boat. If the bracket is mounted upon the left side of thetransom, the spring may be inverted to urge the arm in the oppositedirection.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention willbe more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure l is a sectional view through the transom of a boat showing thewater ski tow rope guide attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the attachment illussrated in Figure 1. t

Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the mounting bracket, theposition of the section being indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure l.

t Figure 4 is a sectional view through a portion of the mountingbracket, the position of the section being indicated by the line 4-4 ofFigure 1.

In Figure 1 of the drawings, the transom 10 of a boat Under normalconditions, the transom 10 inclines upwardly and rearwardly and wouldtherefore support the guide arm in a sub stantially horizontal position.With the transom shown vertical as in Figure l, the guide arm inclinesupwardly and rearwardly.

The water ski tow rope guide is indicated in general by the letter A. Ingeneral, the guide includes a U-shaped frame 11 having spaced verticalsides 12 and 13 connected at their upper ends by a transverse connectingmember 14. The upright member 12 is designed to extend inwardly of thetransom of the boat while the other frame member 13 is designed to clampagainst the outer snrface of the transom 10.

A clamping screw 15 extends through the frame mem ber 12 and ispivotally connected at its extremity to a bearing plate 16 designed tobear against the inner surface 17 of the transom 10. The clamping screw15 is provided with an enlargement 19 at its forward end through which across bar 20 extends. The clamping screw 15 may be tightened andloosened by rotation of the cross bar 20 and corresponding rotation ofthe clamping screw 15.

A clamping plate or cross head 21 is slidable between the parallel framemembers 12 and 13. The clamping plate 21 is vertically slidable betweenthe frame members 12 and 13 and preferably includes projecting lips 22at opposite corners of the generally rectangular plate so as to preventrotation of the plate. The plate 21 is pivotally connected to a clampingscrew 23 which extends through the connecting member 14 of the frame 11.The clamping screw 23 is provided With an enlargement 24 at its upperextremity designed to accommodate a cross bar 25 by means of which theclamping screw may be rotated relative to the clamping plate 21. Theopening in the cross member 14 of the frame through which the clampingbolt 23 extends is threaded to permit the raising and lowering of theclamping plate 21. In a similar manner, the opening 26 in the framemember 12 through which the clamping screw 15 extends is threaded topermit the bearing plate 16 to be moved toward or away from the transom10. V V i An upper bracket plate 27 is secured to the rear frame member13 to extend rearwardly therefrom preferably at an acute angle theretoso that the plate 27 will be substantially horizontal when the transominclines upwardly and outwardly in the usual manner. A similar longerbracket plate 29 also projects rearwardly from the frame member 13 inparallel relation to the plate 27 and spaced substantially below theplate 27. As indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the plates 27 and 29are provided with arcuate outer edges 30 and 31 respectively for apurpose which will be later described. v

A guide arm indicated in general by the numeral 32 includes asubstantially horizontally extending portion 33 and a right angularlyextending pivot portion 34 extending through apertures 35 and 36respectively in the bracket plates 27 and 29. The upper end of the pivotportion 34 of the guide arm is threaded to accommodate a nut 37 whichoverlies the upper bracket plate 27 and holds the parts assembled. Acollar 39 is provided on the pivot portion 34 of the guide arm below thelower bracket 29 so as to prevent vertically axial movement of the pivotportion 34.

As indicated in Figure 4 of the drawings and as also shown in Figure 1,the upper bracket plate 27 is provided with a pair of diametricallyopposed downwardly projecting studs 40 and 41 on opposite sides of thepivot aperture 35. A torsion spring 42 encircles the pivot portion 34 ofthe arm 32 between the bracket plates 27 and 29. Each end of the spring42 is similarly constructed, the upper end including a substantiallytangentially extending portion 43 and an upwardly directed rightangularly extending extremity 44 which extends substantially parallel tothe axis of the pivot portion 34. The lower end of the spring 42 issimilarly provided with a tangentially extending portion 45 and a rightangularly extending downwardly projecting portion 46 which extendssubstantially parallel to the axis of the pivot 34. The tangentiallyextending portions 43 and 45 are of sufiicient length to clear therounded outer ends 30 and 31 of the bracket plates 27 and 29.

The lower extremity 46 of the spring 42 is designed to extend againstthe horizontally extending portions 33 of the arm 32 to urge this armtoward a position extending laterally of the boat or substantiallyparallel to the transom 10. The tangentially extending portion 43 of theupper end of the spring engages one of the lugs 40 or 41 to hold thespring 42 at the proper tension. In the particular arrangementillustrated, the spring 42 is in a position to swing the horizontalportion 33 of the arm 32 in a counterclockwise position as illustratedin Figure 2. The spring may be reversed for urging the arm in theopposite direction. This is accomplished by removing the nut 37,withdrawing the pivot portion 34 of the arm from the bracket plates,inverting the spring 42 and positioning the upper end of the spring toprovide the proper tension to swing the horizontal portion 33 of the arm32 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2.

The outer extremity of the arm 32 is provided with a rope guide. In theparticular arrangement illustrated, the arm portion 33 is bent at rightangles as indicated at 47 and is bent to provide a loop or eye 49 ofproper internal diameter to accommodate the tow rope such as the rope50. An eye bolt or other anchoring means 51 is preferably attached tothe frame member 13 below the level of the arm 32 and substantially inthe plane of the pivot portion 34 of the arm 32 which extends parallelto the longitudinal axis of the boat.

It is felt that the operation of the apparatus will be clear from theforegoing description. The bracket 11 is placed over the transom 10 andadjusted to the proper elevation by means of the clamping screw 23. T heclamp 15 is then tightened to hold the bracket securely in adjuste d"position on the traiis'om 10. If the bracket is used on a boat poweredby an outboard motor, which is normally located centrally of thetransom, the bracket 11 may be mounted either on the right or left sideof the transom laterally of the motor housing. The spring 42 ispositioned to swing the guide arm 32 either to the right or to the leftcorresponding to the side of the boat on which the bracket is mounted.While the length of the arm 32 may be varied, this arm is normally ofproper lerigit h so that the guide loop 49 is normally positionedoutwardly or laterally of the transom and substantially parallelthereto.

As the boat gathers speed to pull the skier over the surface of thewater, and the tow line becomes taut, the pull by the water skier on thetow line swings the horizontal portion 33 of the guide arm in alignmentwith the rope. The spring 42 fiexes to permit the arm to swing to eitherside of center depending upon the location of the water skier relativeto the boat. As soon as the water skier releases the tow rope, thespring 41 will pivot the rear portion 33 of the arm toward substantiallyright angular relation to the direction of movement of the boat. As aresult, the guide loop 49 swings thetow rope to one side of the rear ofthe boat, therefore greatly decreasing the possibility of permitting thetow rope to become entangled in the motor propeller while the boat iscircling either to pick up the water skier or to return to a startingplace. Usually, in water skiing operations, it the skier falls orloseshis balance, he releases the tow rope atidswiins in the water until theboat circles at slow speeds drawing the handle of the tow rope throughthe water toward the swimming skier until the skier may grasp the ropeand get into position to be drawn to the surface of the water bymovement of the boat. During such movements, the guide arm tends toprotect the tow rope from injury due to becoming entangled in the motorpropeller and also preventing consequent injury to the motor itself. 7 V7 In accordance with the patent statutes, we have described theprinciples of construction and operation of our improvement in water skitow rope guide, and while we have endeavored to set forth the bestembodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that changes may bemade within the scope of the following claims without departing from thespirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. In combination with the transom of a boat, a tow rope guide for saidboat including a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom,an arm pivotally supported by said bracket for pivotal movement about asubstantially 7 vertical axis, resilient means normally urging said armto extend transversely of the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a ropeguide on the end of said arm. 4 i

2. In combination with the transom of a boat, a rope guide for saidboats having a tow rope attached to the rear thereof, the rope guideincluding a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, an armpivotally supported by said bracket, the axis of pivot of said arm beingsubstantially in a vertical plane through the point of connectionbetween the rope and the boat and parallel to the longitudinal axis ofthe boat, means normally urging said arm to extend transversely of thelongitudinal axis of the boat, and a rope guide on the end of said armthrough which said rope may extend.

3. The construction described in claim 2 and in which the pivotalconnection between said arm and said bracket is substantially above thepoint of connection between the rope and the boat.

4. The construction described in claim 2 and in which the rope guidecomprises a loop on the end of said arm through which the rope mayextend.

5. In combination with the transom of a boat, a tow rope guide for saidboat including a bracket designed to extend over said boat transom,means for clamping said bracket to the boat transom, an arm pivotallysupported by said bracket for pivotal movement about a substantiallyvertical axis, means normally urging said arm to extend transversely ofthe longitudinal axis of the boat, a rope guide on the end of said armopposite said pivotal attachment with the bracket, and meanssubstantially aligned with said pivot axis to which the tow rope may beanchored. v

6. The construction described in claim 5 and including verticallymovable clamping means on said bracket for adjusting the vertical heightof said bracket relative to the transom.

7. In combination with the transom of a boat, a tow rope guide for saidboat including a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, apair of substantially aligned bearings in substantially verticallyspaced relation on said bracket, a guide arm including a substantiallyhorizontal portion and a substantially vertical portion extendingthrough said bearings, said vertical portion of said arm being pivotallysupported by said bearings, and a torsion spring on said verticalportion of said arm between said bearings, means holding one end of saidspring from pivotal movement, the other end of said spring engaging saidarm to urge said arm toward a position extending transversely of thelongitudinal axis of the boat and a guide means on said arm at a pointspaced from said vertically extending portion thereof.

8. In combination with the transom of a boat, a rope guide for said boatincluding a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, a pairof substantially parallel bearing plates projecting rearwardly from saidbracket, a guide arm including a substantially horizontal portion and asubstantially vertical portion extending through said bearing plates, aspring encircling said vertical portion of said arm between said bearingplates, means on one end of said spring for holding said spring fromrotation, and means on the other end of said spring engaging saidhorizontal portion of said arm to urge the arm toward a positionextending laterally of the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a ropeguide on the horizontal References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 655,575 Palmer Aug. 7, 1900 FOREIGN PATENTS612,172 France July 26, 1926

